DETROIT, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- John Popovich Jr., M.D., a nationally respected pulmonary disease and internal medicine specialist, as well as a national leader in health care policy, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Henry Ford Hospital.

Dr. Popovich, 60, who started at Henry Ford Hospital in 1975 as a medical intern, will oversee the entire clinical and financial operations of the 802-bed hospital, the medical, educational and research flagship of Henry Ford Health System.

He will assume his new position July 15, 2010.

Henry Ford Hospital, founded in 1915, is a tertiary care hospital, education and research complex in Detroit's New Center Area. It is staffed by the 1,100-member Henry Ford Medical Group. The hospital is in the final stages of a $310 million expansion and renovation plan and recently announced it has future plans to expand south of West Grand Boulevard with a $500 million investment. In addition to its Level 1 trauma center designation, the hospital has more intensive care beds than any other facility in Michigan.

"As a physician leader, John offers a unique perspective for this role, merging his long-standing career in medicine in Detroit with innovative ideas to grow and clinically strengthen Henry Ford Hospital," says Bob Riney, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Henry Ford Health System. "We're proud to see him advance to this new position after more than 30 years with Henry Ford."

After graduating from the University of Michigan Medical School, he began his career at Henry Ford beginning with medical internship at Henry Ford, followed by residency training which included serving as chief medical resident and then a fellowship in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine.

Dr. Popovich was instrumental in the growth of intensive care and critical care at Henry Ford Hospital -- serving as director of the medical intensive care unit, developing the institution's critical care training program and leading the expansion of critical care at the institution.

Dr. Popovich served for 10 years as division head of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, before becoming chair of the Department of Internal Medicine in 1999. He became the health system's senior vice president for Clinical Affairs in 2008.

When he begins his new role as president and chief executive officer of Henry Ford Hospital, Dr. Popovich will step down from his position as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and as senior vice president of Clinical Affairs; an interim structure will soon be announced.

Throughout his long career at Henry Ford, Dr. Popovich has led the Department of Internal Medicine to become one of U.S. News and World Report's top 50-ranked specialties in its Best Hospitals issue.

Beyond his roles at Henry Ford, Dr. Popovich is a professor at Wayne State University's School of Medicine and serves as a member of the American Medical Association, Michigan State Medical Society, Wayne County Medical Society, American Thoracic Society, American College of Chest Physicians, Henry Ford Hospital Alumni Association, and the American College of Physicians. In 2005 he became a Master in the American College of Physicians, the highest honor bestowed by this organization.

He serves as the current chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and is a past chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the nation's largest physician certifying board. During his tenure as chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine, he led efforts to expand the recertification program for internal medicine physicians, as well as initiate the development of certification in hospitalist medicine.

In his Foundation role, he led the organization's efforts to advance medical professionalism, working with different health care policy makers and constituents to develop environmental conditions that encourage clinicians to do the right thing in the service of improved quality of care.

Dr. Popovich is a highly respected lecturer and has authored more than 150 journal articles, abstracts and book chapters. His chief research interest is the diagnoses of pulmonary thromboembolism and interstitial lung diseases.

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Popovich is an avid reader with a great interest in culture as well as science. He is as comfortable describing the health care economics of critical care medicine as he is debating an article from the Book Review section of the New York Times.

Henry Ford Health System, one of the country's largest health care systems, integrates primary and specialty care with research and education. It includes the 1,100-member Henry Ford Medical Group, six owned hospitals, the 500,000-member Health Alliance Plan, 29 primary care centers and many other health-related entities located throughout southeastern Michigan.